Guardians Legacy
by kingsredarmy
Summary: This story occurs before the events of the movie. Jacen King is the brother of a board member of the RDA and is selected to be an avatar pilot on Pandora through a generous donation. Attempting to remove himself from the shadow of his little sister, he ventures to the newly discovered planet to make his mark.
1. Prologue (Lost Fire team)

Revised Chapter:

-It's kinda the Garden of Eden with teeth and claws. — James Cameron

Pandora is the fifth moon of the gas giant Polyphemus which orbits Alpha Centauri A in the Alpha Centauri System, the closest star system to our sun. Discovered by space telescopes at some point between 2050 and 2077, Pandora has been the single most exciting thing to happen to the human race in hundreds of years. Upon discovering unobtanium, which is a superconductive material, captivating many. Therefore, the cooperation of corporations in forging new technologies to get humanity there and to settle it.

Upon arrival at Pandora's, its natural beauty is unparalleled to anything experienced on earth. Picturesque settings and backdrops covered the planet, creating a harmony of elegance and tranquility that has been lost to earth ages ago.

As night falls upon Pandora, the world becomes aglow with the bioluminescent light of the planets flora and creatures creating a serenity never before experience. However, with all the beauty Pandora would harbor deadly secrets for its new visitors. Once the RDA deployed its resources, it quickly found out the veracity of Pandora's wildlife exhibited behind the mask of its beauty. In the depths of its jungle, an RDA fireteam moves swiftly through the jungle floors as death still hung heavy in the air from their previous encounters.

"How many of these damn things are out there. I must have killed hundreds by now!" A rough featured man bellowed out.

Muhr, always in the point position on the fireteam cutting through the jungle, was a monster of a man standing at least six and a half feet tall and could easily carry 300 kilos on this lower gravity planet. His sleeveless armor showed off his tribal tattoo, which engulfed his upper arm signifying his Polynesian heritage. On his 3rd tour of Pandora, he had seen a fair share of excitement and death on the planet. He always took the point position as he preferred to see the end coming rather than being surprised by it; he hated surprises.

"Calm your tits, Muhr; you may have killed ten at best. Don't be trying to inflate your ego anymore than it needs to be." I soothing feminine voice retorted, contradicting the roughness of Muhr's voice.

Valdez, the second member of the fireteam, was on his heels four paces back, watching his right flank as she always did since they both arrived on Pandora. A slim feminine figure which gave her an air of grace lured people into a false suspicion that she was weak and vulnerable. At the last moment, they would see the error of their judgment right before their lights quickly turning them off.

"I would love to see you do better, Valdez. I bet you can't even hit a tree if your life depended on it." Muhr fired back.

"Cut the chatter, you two!" The squad leader barked, cutting through the conversation of the two.

"The last thing we need is to hear is you two bitching as those damn viper wolves are tearing us apart." He stated mustering all the authority in his voice that he could despite already losing two men to those viper wolves.

In the third position was Sargent Lewis, an athletically built man with enough military experience to get him through the most challenging situations. After already completing four tours on Pandora, he was one of the more experienced team leaders that haven't left Pandora.

"Why are we even out here at night, Sarge? I thought Colonel said no night ops?" McBride whined as he began to feel the air grow thicker around him, making him draw his rifle to his shoulder and sweep behind the team.

Mcbride was in the 4th position and looked like a skinny science kid rather than a mercenary, but what he lacked in first impressions he made up for in is marksman ability. Quickly boasting kill shots from fifteen hundred yards and being just as on point in a close firefight.

"Colonel is the one issuing the orders, and we are to follow them, roger that McBride!" Sarge snapped at him.

"Roger that sarge," Mcbride replied, hearing the uneasiness in his voice.

The pace of the fireteam slowed as they picked their way through the overgrown underbrush of Pandora's forest floor. It was easy for someone to get lost in the beauty of Pandora's bioluminescent lit night, but just like how an angelfish lures his prey in with a bright light, so does Pandora.

"Did the Colonel at least give you the courtesy for why we are out here before he sent us to our deaths?" Basil chimed in.

Basil taking up the rear position on the fireteam, was the newest member. Just finishing his second tour on Pandora, he had enough experience to know what lurked in the jungles at night. His skin was dark as the night with broad shoulders carrying a thick accent that would easily give away where he hailed.

"Yes, he did. There is a comm relay that is a click away from the base that needs fixing. As you all should know, if those things stay down too long, Pandora could easily swallow up a forward base without a second thought."

It was a bleak reminder of how deadly Pandora was to humans. Sarge always questioned, to himself, did the corporations and the shareholders ever see how many human lives they were losing? Were these efforts to extract these stupid rocks worth it; or did they just think that it was some easy way to crowd control earth while making a buck on the side.

In the early years of the settling of Pandora, the whole research bases would disappear from the map, and when teams would deploy to find out what happened, everyone would be dead. It just re-enforced to the boots on the ground that Pandora did not want them there. But it is in human nature to take that warning and shove it because they were going to do what is in the best interest of them.

As the team pressed forward, the silence was growing thicker and making everyone on edge. Nervous sweat began to form on the sides of Mcbride's face as his eyes darted from tree to brush and back to the tree, anticipating the ambush that was sure to happen.

Breaking through to a clearing, Muhr was the first to spot the relay station in the middle of the clearing. "Sarge! Relay station up ahead."

Just as Sarge registered the report, a yipping sound began to emanate from the trees like hyenas during a hunt. Sarge's blood began to run cold as the noise grew louder and louder at a frightening pace. Soon it felt like the whole damn jungle was laughing at them as they whipped around attempting to predict where and when the attack would come.

"Viperwolves!" Valdez screamed, piercing through the yipping of the viper wolves.

Six-legged fanged beasts, which are as black as night, began to emerge from the underbrush with substantial numbers. Their numbers began to grow as the fireteams lights would hit them, revealing more lying in wait. The pack moved in unison as they started to coral the fireteam as they snapped and hissed at them.

"Sarge, what're your orders?" Muhr bellowed over the viper wolves as he popped off warning shots as some of the viper wolves grew braver.

"Weapons free and press for the relay!" Sarge ordered, and in a split second, the jungle erupted with gunshots and howling.

The team cut its way through the pack to the relay stations as the viper wolves nipped at their heels. Muhr, focusing on the mission, poping off bursts at the viper wolves, creating a path. Some landed fatal blows, and others merely wounded the beast, but he paid no mind to them as long as they got out of his way. If he focused on killing every single one, he knew that he would be quickly overwhelmed, and everyone would pay dearly.

The team tactfully made its way until the soft earth turned to metal, and the team began to take positions around the relay as the fired upon their pursuers. Arriving at the comm station, Basil started work as gunfire began erupted around him.

Muhr began to chuckle at the pitiful attack that they viper wolves were displaying caused him to miss one sneaking up on his left. It struck swiftly and with ferocity as it clawed at Muhr, connecting with his head drawing blood. Muhr let out a cry of pain as the claws dug through his skin and catching on his mask. Valdez hearing the call spun around and, in any instance, fire rounds at the viper wolf, which was engulfing her teammate. Her shots found their mark as the beast went limp and collapsed on Muhr. In anger and frustration, Muhr muscled the lip body off of him and fired more rounds into the creature as he screamed.

"Muhr, stop! Focus, or you are going to get us all killed." Valdez snapped at him.

"God damn these things!" Muhr screamed at the corpse, firing a few more rounds into the beast before returning to position.

"What the hell?" Muhr questioned.

"Where did they all go?" His inquisitive face was showing through the blood, partially painting the inside of his mask.

As quickly as they came, the viper wolves disappeared back into the safety of the Pandora jungles leaving the team all alone again.

"Doesn't matter, focus on fixing that relay so we can get the hell out of here. Muhr, do you need a medic?" Sarge asked, doing a once over on Muhr.

"Nah, it's just a flesh wound." He stated as he smiles, tossing his rifle on his shoulder.

"I bet it makes me look even sexier." Eyeing Valdez.

"Ha! Over my dead body." Valdez retorted.

"Hey, is Pandora anything can happen here." Muhr shot back sarcastically.

"Cut it out you two they may come back we need to be on high alert. Basil, how much longer?" Sarge ordered returning the two to the task at hand.

"Not much longer just have to run diagnostics, and we can get the hell out of here."

Pulling a datapad from his bag, he attached the leads to the marked test points on the relay. The machine humming to life, lights began to illuminate the outer shell as the system went through its diagnostics. The datapad let out a small cheerful ping as it completed its check and showed that all systems are functional. The team let out a sigh of relief as Basil returned the datapad to his bag.

"Finally, I need a break from this; a couple of rounds would do the trick." Mcbride breathed out.

Just as he finished his sentence and turned to view the jungle, something caught his eye in the blackness as it bore down on him. At the last moment, he was able to look down as tip pierced through his armor plate and before the inertia took over. It ripped him off of his feet and skewered him to the station wall behind him in an instant; the toxins that coated the head began to make its way into his bloodstream. He looked down to see brightly colored feathers on end and realizing it was an arrow. At that moment, the toxins in his blood ignited his neuroreceptors and lit them on fire. He screamed in horror and disbelief of the pain that was consuming him from the inside.

"Na' vi! Take cover!" Sarge ordered as the team realized they were under attack and scrambling for what little protection they had.

"Suppressing fire at twelve o'clock!" Sarge shouted, pointing to the direction the arrow allegedly came.

The fireteam peaking out from their cover, sent round after round into the tree line, hoping to dissuade the Na' vi from attacking again. More arrows began to take flight as the air around them erupted as arrows shot pass them embedding themselves in the metal. The blood-curdling screams of McBride could still be heard over the gunfire as they dodged and dipped praying that the arrows failed to find their target, which would instantly mean death.

"Sarge! Please end this!" McBride cried out over the raging battle.

"Kill me, please!"

Sarge turned to see McBride still trying to remove the arrow from him as he stared back at him, his eyes pleading for the dark deed. Sarge shook his head in disbelief at the thought of killing his own man even if he is begging for it; he did not have the stomach to do it.

"Please, sarge!" McBride cried out again.

Sarge could see the fear and the pain the man was enduring as the hung there impaled by that damn arrow. He could feel his heart sink into his stomach as he stared back at McBride, knowing what he needed to do even if every fiber of his being refusing to do it. Still, undercover, he drew his service pistol looking at it and then back at McBride.

"Damn you all to hell!" Sarge boomed as he pointed the pistol at Mcbride and squeezed the trigger.

In an instant, his body went limp as the arrow that skewered him bearing his weight. A single entry hole was all that showed on his head was at that was left of the deed. Pivoting Sarge turned to catch a quick glimpse of Basil stretched out on the ground. Returning his eyes to him, he was met with the haunting gaze of a dead man's eyes as an arrow stuck through his chest. It was a nightmare that was coming to life. Over the battle, Sarge could hear Valdez screaming at them as she fired with no focus spraying every direction in front of her, hoping to connect with something that was tearing her team apart.

"Valdez, Muhr, we need to leave now!" Sarge barked, trying to reach them over the gunfire.

Valdez, in her fury, not hearing any orders, stood upright, squeezing round after round into the darkness of the jungle.

"Valdez now!" Sarge ordered.

Registering the order, Valdez turned her head to face Sarge, and that was all it took. Another arrow came from blackness found its mark hitting her square in the chest, taking her off her feet and skidding to the base of the relay station, killing her instantly.

Sarge cried out as he ran to his fallen team member and was hit by an overwhelming force from the side, sending him reeling to the ground. He felt the incredible weight of the arrow in his hands as it impaled him through his rib cage, puncturing his lungs. Trying desperately to draw breath but the pressure on his chest grew more oppressively with every passing moment. The fire that consumed McBride began to radiate through him before he fell still and drew his last breath.

Muhr taking cover turned to see his whole team lying dead from the attack, all of them impaled by the arrows from their attackers. Feeling the cold breath of death his neck, he endured the weight of his emotions of being the last survivor of his fireteam. Inhaling deeply, rising to his feet make his final stand as an arrow shot out of the darkness, ripping his rifle from his hands, shattering it behind him. Quickly returning to cover, gripping his throbbing hands, he waited for the final moments on his damn planet, but it never came, silence fell over the battlefield.

Emerging Muhr was face to face with the raiding party that killed his team. There were at least 8 of them fully drabbed in their warrior marks and not a scratch on them. The leader of the Na' vi raiding parties lifted his dagger and pointed at him.

"Oe ninew kamunge ngeya tireyit." [1] He said with deathly calmness.

Muhr did not know what he said but figured that he said he was going to kill him, so doing what he knew would best prepare him for his death. Moving in front of the leader, he went into a squat position, drumming his chest as he echoed the words of his ancestors to all that could hear. Calmness coursed through him, thundering the haka a warrior battle cry from times long ago. Finishing with his left hand stretched back and his right forward, he displayed his tongue and showed the whites of his eyes, he was ready.

The Na' vi leader smiled, drawing himself up to his full height and lunged at him with lightning speed and precision driving his knee into Muhr's face. Taking him off of his feet, Muhr slipped from consciousness as his nose caved in from the force of the impact. Moments later, returning to consciousness with the Na' vi leader towering over him. Muhr could see the smile painted across his face as in an instant, he drove his knife deep into his chest, killing him instantly.

"Ayoeng laro si atxkxe ngeya titsunwingati." [2] The leader spoke as he kneeled above the dead human.

The stench of death hung in the night air as the sights and sounds of Pandora's jungles returned. The raiding party departed from the scene returning home, allowing the forests to claim the bodies.

Author's note:

Thank you for reading! I hope to hear from ya'll and if you know how to write Na'vi better than myself, your help will be greatly appreciated! Si arayo!

"Your life is mine, sky person." [1]

"We will cleanse the land of your kind." [2]


	2. Chapter 1

In cryo there is nothing, just a black void that the mind wanders aimlessly through as the physical body travels billions of miles through the nothingness of space. To some, it's a comfort to the overcrowding of the planet that they just left; to others, it brings an unnatural uneasiness before they are awoken. Jacen found this to be a nice comfort since in cryo no one is telling you what to do or how you are failing to live up to expectations; it's just him and nothing. What felt like an exaggerated blink, his eyes opened revealing the pale light that illuminated his cryo pod. Floating in the zero-gravity, he looked around not knowing if he had made it. Hearing a muffled sound from outside the pod, he turned his head to the direction the sound was coming from.

"Do not be alarmed. You have been in cryo for five years nine months and eighteen days," a muffled voice echoed through the pod.

His mouth felt void of any moisture, like he had slept with his mouth open for the past five years. Moving his tongue around his mouth to stimulate any kind of moisture to quench his unbearable thirst, he began to fumble with the straps that kept him in place as he slept.

Feeling the pod moving, he looked out the window to be met with a blinding light that quickly aggravated his head, producing a throbbing sensation in his frontal lobe. Pressing his fingers into his temples to alleviate the pain, a hissing sound broke through the seal. As the pod door opened, a person donning a white cap and light blue scrubs floating above his pod is studying his movements while Jacen adjusted to the light.

"Any issues?" the medical rep questioned, meeting his eyes with Jacen's.

Not being able to formulate any words due to that dehydrated state that he was in, the best response he could produce was a simple head shake "no". Feeling comfortable with the response, the medical person pushed away to check on others. Rising, he pushed off and moved through the cryo hold to the locker rack that was suspended above him.

Opening the locker with haste, he was relieved to see a water container suspended in the space where his clothes and other personal items were. Thanking whoever had the forethought to place the bottle in his locker, he downed it without a second thought and felt instantly rejuvenated.

Grabbing his clothes, he followed the mass of people to one of the egresses where the landing shuttles were docking with the deep-space shuttle. Passing through into the narrow corridor, he found an unoccupied changing room and slipped into his normal clothes. Jacen chuckled at the effort he had to put in as he floated in space attempting to put on his pants. After placing the cryo clothes in the bin at the changing room, he followed the group of people to the waiting shuttle.

"Boarding group B please make your way onto the shuttle and secure yourselves," a pale-skinned man at the hatchway entrance ordered.

"Boarding group B please make your way onto the shuttle and secure yourselves," the man repeated, ushering people into the shuttle.

Jacen, pushing through the hatch, was met with a narrow hold filled with people suspended in zero gravity as they fumbled around trying to secure themselves to their seats. Making his way through the throng of people, he found an unoccupied seat and grabbed for the restraints. Pulling himself in, he secured his arms under the straps before pulling down on them, which pressed him to the back of the seat. He smiled as he let his feet float out in front of him, enjoying the brief moments he had in space.

"Looks like you are enjoying yourself," a soft voice called out.

Jacen turned to his left and was met with a gaze of a woman smiling at him as she still floated in space. Quickly she put her arms through the restraints, pulling down on the straps and securing herself to the seat in one fluid motion. Feeling embarrassed, he pulled his feet to him and cleared his throat.

"Yeah, it was fun," he stated as he smiled back at her.

"My name is Jacen King," he said as he stuck out his hand.

"My name is Cara Carson," she replied, grabbing his hand and shaking it.

Cara was an athletically built woman with a soft face and short-cropped black hair. She had some color to her skin that only further accentuated the prominent features of her face. Her green-colored eyes burned with intense focus as she studied him. The grip that she produced on Jacen's hand indicating to him that she was not with the research department on this trip and probably a hired gun or something else.

"So, what is your business on Pandora?" Jason questioned, releasing her hand.

"Pleasure," she chuckled out.

Jacen, not knowing how to respond to someone who would want to venture hundreds of light years away from earth to Pandora, could only sit there and smile sheepishly at her.

"Just kidding, I'm a hired gun to help escort the equipment to the dig sites. What are you here for?"

"I was selected to be in the avatar program," Jacen beamed, kind of proud of himself.

"Holy shit, no way!" she shot back, not hiding her enthusiasm and knocking him on the shoulder.

"How did you land that gig? You must be a really smart guy and have like ten PhDs or something," Cara stated.

"Nah, nothing like that. I guess I can say that I got really lucky because I know some people," he answered, looking down at his feet.

"Who the hell do you know that would get you into this program?!" Cara was basically shouting at him, surprised by his honestly.

"Eh, I don't really want to talk about it," Jacen softly spoke while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, it doesn't matter because they are probably back on earth and you are here on Pandora, hundreds of lightyears away from them," Cara calmly stated, feeling the uneasiness from Jason, attempting to change the subject.

"Yeah, I guess you are right," his voice perking up a bit.

As everyone took their seats and secured themselves, the ship jarred to life as it broke away from the orbiting station. Feeling the pull, the shuttles sub light engines kicked on as the landing shuttle moved away from the station and began its descent onto Pandora.

Breaking into Pandora's atmosphere, the shuttle violently shook and dropped from the friction generated in its outer hull as it passed through each layer of the atmosphere. This caused Jacen to white knuckle his restraints as he closed his eyes, praying that it would quickly end. Cara looking over and noticed the discomfort that he was enduring during re-entry. Slipping her hand over his, she slid her fingers in between his, gripping his hand.

"Don't worry, you will be fine. It's the stuff on Pandora that will kill you, not re-entry," she calmly stated, trying to make light of the situation and ignore his sweaty hand.

Slightly chuckling at the thought through clenched teeth, he felt his stomach jump up and down with each movement the ship made. Moments later, the ship broke through into the troposphere where it leveled out, causing the violence to subside. Jacen began to easy the death grip that he had on the restraints and Cara's hand.

"See we made it," Cara said, laughing at him.

He nodded in reply as his hands fell to his legs to wipe off the moisture that his hands had produced from their descent. Just as he thought everything would smooth out, the ship jolted to life again as it entered a storm system. Jacen's hands shot back to the restraints as he slammed his eyes shut, trying to control his stomach from getting the better of him.

"Attention, this is your captain. We are entering a storm system that will make our landing a little rougher than you would probably like, however, we will survive and be landing as scheduled. Have fun, captain over and out," the overhead comms rang out.

"Damn! That was so comforting," Jacen forced out through clenched teeth as the ship forced its way through the storm.

The shuttle made its way through the storm undeterred as the forces of nature acted upon it. Wind and rain pelted the ship, making him more uneasy as it echoed through the void of the ship's hold. Looking through the slits of his eyes, he saw Cara bouncing around in her seat with a smile on her face and not a care in the world; he hated her for that.

The sounds of the rain landing on the hull grew louder as the shuttle slowed for its approach. Switching its engines over to landing, it slowed to a hover before dropping onto the landing platform designated for it with as little grace as possible. Feeling this ship drop out of the air, Jacen let out a little yelp as his stomach entered his throat.

"This is your captain speaking. Welcome to Pandora, where the local time is 0954," the intercom echoed as the shuttle's engines began to wind down.

"Alright people let's move. We have a schedule to keep. Let's move!"

Jacen, looking up, tried to silence the shaking his body was doing and spotted a tall man moving through the hold in a green military-issued flight suit. Immediately, people began to unharness and don their gear. Jacen, moving with haste and trying not to be the odd man out, unbuckled his restraints and removed his duffle bag from under him before throwing it on his back. Grabbing his mask from above his seat, he filed into the ranks that were forming in the middle of the narrow hold.

"Keep your masks on and head for the base. Do not stop. I repeat, keep your masks on, head for the base, and do not stop. If you remove your mask, you will be unconscious in one minute and dead in four. I hate doing paperwork, so nobody dies today," the crew chief ordered.

Making his way to the bay door of the shuttle, the crew chief placed his hand on the button, ordering everyone to don their mask. As the group slid their masks on, they all heard the comforting hissing sound as the mask sealed shut and oxygen began to be pumped in. Making sure everyone had their mask on, the crew chief donned his, checking the seal before hitting the button and sending the bay door ajar. Pandora's air rushed in to fill the new void as a visible wave moved the situation to most serious.

"Move, move, move!" the crew chief shouted, muffled by the oxygen mask, as he motioned with his hand the direction the group needed to head towards.

The ranks of personnel began to file out of the landing shuttle and entered the down-pouring rain once the bay door settled on the platform. Jacen's boots hit the ground with a splash, following the person in front of him as they moved through the rain undeterred. Leaving the cover of the shuttle, Jacen's clothes were soaked instantly by the heavy rains. His eyes briefly departed from the back of a person's head to reveal the dark grey skies that loomed over the base, covering what looked like massive trees that lay beyond the thick reinforced walls. Before he knew it, he was in another holding room with a large, dark orange steel door at the front of it.

"Alright everyone, pack it in so that we can decom the space," the crew chief ordered as he brought up the rear and closed the door behind them.

Air shot out the vents as the fans sprang to life, removing Pandora's air and pumping fresh air into the compartment. The cold air sent chills through Jacen's body as it struck his wet clothes, making them freeze. Pulling his hands to his body to keep its warmth, he witnessed others doing the same due to the quick temperature drop. Before he knew it, the vents shut off and he began to warm up.

"Mask off! I repeat, masks off!" the crew chief bellowed out, making him heard throughout the compartment.

The group of newcomers removed their masks in unison as they fixed them to their bags, waiting for follow-on orders. The door reverberated with scraping metal as the locking mechanism moved to open the heavy door. Breathing in the sterile air of the base, a new figure appeared in the doorway and waved to the crew chief to come over. Making his way through the ranks of people, he signed something on the data pad and ordered us to follow the security person.

Donned in jungle fatigues with a service pistol on his right, he ushered the group to follow him through the cramped passageways. Forming two lines, they made their way through the base, taking in the bustling activity that was occurring around them.

"Did you hear what happened to that fire team the Colonel sent out to fix the relay?" one of the security guards posted up against a wall asked the one next to him as the group passed.

"Yeah, they found the bodies the next day after they did report back," the other replied.

"Yeah, but did you hear what killed them?" pressing the other in a terrible attempt at whispering. The other guard just shook his head in response.

"The damn Na'vi hit them hard. Killed every one of them…"

Before Jacen could hear the rest of the conversation, the group had moved into another passageway and up a flight of stairs. He continued to follow the back of a person, taking in as much of the activity around him without tripping over the person in front of him. After a few minutes, they filed into the mess hall, which was filled with metal tables and chairs. The front of the room held three windows with the shutters opened, displaying the storm still going strong outside. The security person told the group to grab their seats before the head of security was to make his way down for the safety brief.

Jacen surveyed his surroundings while taking his seat, taking in the very simplistic metal and concrete room that preferred functionality over character. The light from the windows coated the room in a light grey, adding to the dismal appearance of it. It was a stark difference to the rooms that he was used to back on Earth, but so was everything else on Pandora. Cara, sliding behind him, pulled up a chair next to him and plopped down, nudging him with her elbow.

"Can't lose me that easily," she joked with him.

"I hope not because you are the only person I know here," replying as he smiled back.

Before she could reply, three security personnel cut their way through the mess hall and posted at the front of the room. Standing at parade rest, they faced the group and waited for someone. The group turned to look back the direction they came to see a towering man entering the mess hall.

The man that entered wore jungle fatigues like the rest of the security, with his sleeves rolled up nice and precise. Sporting grey hair that was cut to the exact requirements that was known in the military, he defined what an ideal military man should look like. His strong jawline was only overshadowed by the three distinct markings that ran from the back of his head to the edges of his face, clearly indicating that he was attacked by something.

"Welcome to Pandora!" the man thundered out as he moved to the front of the room.

Each step he took was done with purpose, displaying unquestioned authority to all. The occupants of the room could feel that the words that he said had no excitement behind them but were just strictly done out of formality.

"You have survived the easiest part of your journey here," he stated with no emotion, reaching the front of the room and pivoting to face the group.

"I am Colonel Quiratch and I am head of Security here on Pandora," he smiled.

"I will do my best to protect you, however, I will not succeed with all of you." These words sent a deathly stillness through the group as they looked at one another, probably calculating their odds.

"Today you will learn the rules-Pandora rules. If you follow these six simple rules, you will stand a chance to survive your tour out here," plainly stating as he moved in front of the group.

"Rule number one..." As Quiratch started, Jacen's concentration was broken as Cara started nudging him in the side trying to gain his attention.

"Hey, get a load of this guy," she whispered, nodding in the direction of the Colonel.

"I think we should listen. I didn't travel all this way just to get killed day one," he whispered back.

"You're good, he is just out here to scare everyone straight. I have heard this speech a dozen times by now," she replied.

"He's going to say don't do this, do that, blah, blah, and it all basically boils down to just don't be stupid and you won't get yourself killed out here." Drawing her hands behind her head, she fell back into her chair in a relaxed position.

Returning his concentration back to the Colonel, a cold sweat began to run down his neck as he realized that he had finished the rules. Panic began to develop in the deepest part of him and spread like wildfire as he did not know what he needed to do. Hopefully the people that he would be working with knew the rules and they wouldn't get him killed.

"Damn you, Cara," he muttered to himself.

"These three will escort you to your respective departments. Good luck," the Colonel stated, motioning to the three people behind him.

With that, the Colonel departed the room as the security personnel broke the group up into their departments. At that point, Cara and Jacen were separated as they followed their guides to wherever they had to take them. Cara's eyes met Jacen's and she motioned with her mouth in an exaggerated gesture that he would be fine.

Jacen fell in behind the mismatched group of researchers and scientists, still dwelling on the information that he missed. They made their way up and down flights of stairs, proceeding deeper into the complex, not paying any attention to where they were going.

Before long, the bleak greys turned to pure white as the walls reflected the sterile environment the scientist and researchers maintained. Reaching the research department, they were overwhelmed with the amount of equipment and experiments that were being run, as well as the amount of personnel moving about like some sterile beehive.

Up ahead, Jacen could see a tall woman in the center of a room surrounded by monitors and people, clearly displaying that she was not in a pleasant mood. She had short red hair and wore a white lab coat that most likely denoted, at least in his mind, that she was a scientist. Taking a drag from her cigarette, she continued her fury to all that passed by, motioning erratically with her arms.

"Dr. Augustine, here is the new group that was assigned to your department," the security person spoke, breaking her concentration.

Making her way over with a cigarette hanging out of the corner of her mouth, she took the data pad from the guard and dismissed him with a wave. She began to scroll through the data as she looked them up and down, scrutinizing the eight-remaining people from the shuttle. After each person, she would utter something good or nothing at all as she filed down the line until she reached Jason.

"Huh," she breathed, reading Jacen's bio on the data pad.

Not knowing what to say, Jacen cleared his throat and smiled back at her, attempting to elicit another response. Jacen studied the eyes of Dr. Augustine for what felt like hours, as they searched the data pad for something that clearly was not there.

"Useless," was all that she said when she finally spoke with a dismissive wave.

"What!?" Jacen retorted, baffled by the response.

"Useless and clearly they need to add hard of hearing. I need qualified people here, not some lucky lottery winner that found a golden ticket," she fired back, staring down at him in disgust.

He tried to remain calm, knowing that this would be his first impression here on Pandora and more importantly, to the person who would most likely be his boss. Searching his mind, he tried to develop a response that was both diplomatic and gave himself some credit.

"I trained three years to come here. It wasn't like I just hopped on a shuttle and magically appeared here," he shot back not hold back his emotions.

"Damn it," he thought after the words left his mouth, knowing the ensuing storm that was about to break on him.

"What are you qualified to do, huh? Do you know anything about botany? Are you a specialized scientist like everyone else here? Or are you a qualified researcher that has put over a decade's worth of their life to just step foot on this planet? Or do you just know how to point a gun and shoot?" she replied sharply, like a hot knife through butter, tossing the data pad on the desk.

Jacen stood there, balled his hands into a fist, and stared back at this woman tearing him down. The other researchers in the area started to take notice of the interaction, as they casually looked their direction to see what was going to happen next.

"That's what I thought-useless," she breathed out, forcing herself past him.

"The company that sent me here pays for this whole thing!" Jacen shouted at the top of his lungs, silencing the room.

This halted Dr. Augustine in her tracks, forcing her to turn back to where Jacen was standing. Turning around, Jacen met her glaring eyes with his as a standoff began inside the lab.

"The person that sent me here is on the board, the same board that pays for all this," stating as he motioned to the room.

"And they can quickly take it away when I tell them what you are doing here, or even better remove you," threatening her clearly, making no attempt to be diplomatic.

"That's your little power play?" she scoffed at him.

"You're going to have to do better than that," laughing at him.

With that, she turned and stormed out of the room, clearly heading somewhere to give someone a piece of her mind. The stillness of the room left as the researchers returned to their work and the new group gawked at him in confusion and worry. This was the last thing that he wanted.

"I apologize for the Doctor's little display. I am Max. You can basically think of me as the number two person here," a gentler man spoke from behind one of the monitors.

Max was an average built man in height and stature. He had black curly hair and donned the same white lab coat as Dr. Augustine. He also wore silver-rimmed glasses, giving off the classic smart guy appearance.

"Here are your assigned teams and the current projects they are working on," he finished up as he grabbed the data pads and passed them out to everyone except for Jacen.

"For you, I need you to come back at O nine hundred hours tomorrow and try not to piss her off again," he spoke with sternness while handing him a data pad.

Before he could respond, Max put up his hands, gave him the look of "I know", and moved on to assist others to find their perspective teams. This left Jacen to stand there all alone as the weight of what had just transpired crashed upon him. No longer was he some unknown person; now he's the person that people openly avoid.

By the time the whole incident was over and Jacen had departed the lab it was lunchtime, so he made his way to the mess hall. After many wrong turns, he managed to locate the mess hall and grab some food. Turning, he quickly found an empty space at a table near the corner of the mess hall. Sitting down quietly, trying not to draw attention to himself, he picked at the generic food that was served here, which once again reminded him of where he was.

"How was your first impression?" Cara spoke as she dropped her tray in front of him, breaking him from his stewing.

"Well, it can't get any worse than what has already happened," he muttered out, thinking about the incident.

"Yeah, I heard about it," she matter-of-factly stated, drawing a shocked look from Jacen.

He felt the blood drain from his body at the remark. His mind fixated on how quickly word spread around here and how miserable his life would be going forward. He started to think about what Cara thought of him now and how he probably won't be seeing much of her anymore.

"I'm just playing. God don't have a heart attack," she chuckled out, making funny faces at him.

"Well, how was yours?" he questioned, trying to divert the conversation away from him.

"Same old, same old. Take this equipment here, stay with said equipment, don't let equipment get destroyed, and don't die in the process," tapping each finger as she listed them off.

"Tomorrow they fit us for our gear and run us through some exercise to make sure we don't die instantly out there. How kind of them," she said, staring off into the distance.

"Seems like you are enjoying yourself out here," he pointed out.

"It's okay. Tomorrow will be fun because we at least get to put rounds down range, but the real excitement will be outside these walls," she replied, not noticing that she was leaning over the table.

"Cool. I hope my department doesn't disown me and send me somewhere else," he commented, looking down at his food.

"What the hell happened? Did you light someone on fire or do some experiment wrong?" she asked sarcastically.

"Nah, I pissed off my boss because apparently I don't live up to her expectations and let everyone in the whole damn department know," he replied, letting some of his emotions slip out.

"Well, I don't know what happened, but my old man used to say that 'if you treat people like shit, don't be surprised when you get what's com'in to yah'," she stated, pointing a fork at him.

"Well, I'm done, so I'm going to head back to my room and settle in. I bet I have a ton of homework to do," he moaned out, rising from the table.

"Eww, I'm glad I don't have your job," she said while giving a disgusted look.

"Yup, see you tomorrow, same place?" he questioned, feeling his emotions hanging on her response.

"Yup!" her response short as she returned to her food.

Jacen felt his spirits lift since at least one person on this base did not hate his guts. With that, he smiled at her, got up from the table, and grabbed his half-eaten tray. Moving through the crowded mess hall, he expected to hear people whispering about him but to his relief, no one paid him any mind, let alone looked at him.

Departing the mess hall, he made his way to the scullery and dropped his tray off. Pulling out his data pad, he scrolled to find his tac number for the room he would be staying in and made his way there. After getting lost and asking multiple people for directions, he finally found it and let out a sigh of relief.

His room housed a stack of bed racks two high, embedded into the metal. They were tall enough to allow a person to fully sit up in them and that was all. They also housed a personal monitor for whatever the user needed it for. On the other side was a small common space ordained with a small table and a couple of chairs. Forward of him was a door cut into the concrete wall and through it revealed a bathroom which housed a single shower head, a toilet, and a sink/mirror combo.

Jacen grabbed his bag, tossed it into the standup locker next to his rack, and flopped onto the bottom bed. Letting out an exaggerated breath, he thought about the terrible start to his experience here and how people would treat him differently because of it. As his mind began to wander, he started thinking about home.

*Flashback*

Opening a heavy wooden door, Jacen enters a luxurious meeting room. He was taken aback by the spaciousness of the room. The walls were polished black with priceless paintings ordorning them. The center of the room featured a massive, dark wooden table, adding to the overall elegance of the room. Around the table sat executive-style leather chairs most likely made with the softest leather possible. Looking to the windows which lined the left side of the room, stood his sister, Jade.

"Hey!" he called out to her.

"Hey," she replied, never taking her eyes from the window.

She stood there stoically dressed in one of her business suits as usual, which was perfectly tailored to accentuate her feminine features. Her dark brown hair was done up in a way Jacen couldn't describe and not a single hair was out of place. She wore a slight smile on her face coupled with soft features that made guys melt in her hands.

"Congrats on getting selected to be on the board of directors for the RDA! You must be so happy!" He tried to sound excited for her, but his heart still sank because of the disappointment he had of being compared to her.

"Thank you! I'm so excited to get started. Did you know I will be the youngest board member ever at the RDA?" pointing out the fact as she beamed with excitement.

Her older brother always meant the world to her and she strived to surpass him at everything that he did. It wasn't because she was petty or hated him; it was because she felt more challenged than she did with her peers when measuring up their achievements. He was constantly ahead of her, not only in age, but in everything else, and she did everything she could to catch up and surpass him. Turning to her brother, she waited for the response of the person she always wanted to be.

The sinking feeling in his heart began to surface again as he thought about how his parents would be so proud of his younger sister's accomplishments and informed people constantly about them. He knew that his parents loved him, but he knew that their interest in him wavered as Jade grabbed success with relative ease. He felt that they no longer expected him to do anything great and focused their efforts on someone with more promise and potential.

"Yeah, that's not surprising since you have been at the top ever since you were born," he replied, trying not to let his sister know what he was feeling.

"I can't wait to see Pandora! Now that I am a board member, I know that I can go," she said, returning her gaze to outside the window.

Jade, no longer focusing on her brother, looked out at the vastness of the city. She saw opportunity where none could see and seized it with determination and focus. Her dream was to make it to Pandora someday and this was the most sure-fire way she knew.

"Yeah, I would love to see it, too," Jacen sighed, following his sister's gaze out the window.

He stood there not really focusing on anything, but just staring into the vastness of the city that the building stood amongst. Deep down, he wondered if his life would amount to anything or would he be instantly forgotten when he passed. The coldness of those thoughts left him feeling more alone and depressed than ever, bringing a tear to the corner of his eye.

Returning back to the present, he quickly squashed the thoughts that were stirring in the back of his mind because he knew that it would drum up unpleasant memories. Reaching, he pulled the monitor in his rack close to him and logged in. Upon seeing the laundry list of items populate for him to complete, he tore into it with fervor. No longer was he going to be dictated by others' ideas of him; he was going to make a name for himself here.

Authors Note:

Thank you for reading! I wanted to explore what happened before the movie and how Grace got involved with the Omaticaya Clan. Hopefully this interests you and gives you a break from the retell of the movie. Please like and review, si arayo!


	3. Chapter 2

-0630-

The irritating alarm of the monitor forced Jacen out of his slumbering state as he fumbled around to find the silence button. Frustration grew as he failed to find the button, forcing him to remove his head from his pillow. Having full attention, he searched for anything to mute the damn noise. In the end, brute force ceased the sound as he struck the monitor, sending it into the wall.

He pressed his fingers into his eyes in a feeble attempt to repress the dreams of failure that his mind tormented him with so often. Depression was always worse in the morning; his mind was never ceasing to focus on the directions he could have taken but failed to, always comparing it with other people's successes around him.

"If you don't like where you are at, sort it, change it, or challenge it because the worst thing you can do is be enslaved by it." Remembering something that he was once told, or heard, didn't matter.

That was why he was out here on Pandora, away from everything that he felt was keeping him down. The pressures of his parents and peers made it feel like he was gasping for air in an endless sea of potential. He had high hopes of starting anew and had flopped day one.

His mind tormented him with the reminder that he was out here all alone; it crippled his spirit. Then through the fog of his mind, an image of Cara appeared, she was his friend, and that made him feel better. He chuckled at the thought of sharing his emotions with her and what she would probably say, most likely comparing him to a cat.

"They will not get the best of me," he said out loud, motivating himself to get out of bed.

"I will determine how I will enjoy my time here, not them!" With that, he swung his legs out of his rack.

As his body began to awaken fully, he pushed himself from the bed and made his way to the bathroom to perform his morning rituals. Pausing at the mirror, he took a long look at his sleepy face as it barely hung onto his head. Carrying water, he splashed it to rejuvenate the skin, bringing some life back to it.

He ran his hands over the stubble that formed around his jawline and neck. Retrieving a razor from his bag, he removed the hair in smooth strokes, revealing his defined jawline. Giving himself a half-smile, he combed over his thick brown hair with his fingers to the left as he finished up at the sink.

After putting on his clothes, he departed his room and made his way to the mess hall, only losing his orientation once. That was progress, he thought. Collecting his breakfast, he ventured over to find an isolated spot and ate his meal in peace that only attracted the eyes of a few people there. Finishing in moments, he rose from his seat and returned his tray to the scullery, drawing whispers from a few people as he passed. Ignoring the remarks, he made his way to the research lab.

'Man, I wish Cara was here,' he thought to himself.

Standing outside the door, he let out a breath thinking, 'It was a new day, and he needs to make his next appearance, his lasting impression.' Passing through the doors, the gazes of the research fell upon him. A momentary silence fell over the lab as he moved through; his eyes focused on his mark. With haste, he made his way to the table in which Dr. Augustine and Max were standing discussing something on the monitor.

"Good morning, Dr. Augustine," Jacen said, mustering as much respect for the person that tore him apart hours earlier.

As Dr. Augustine and Max turned and registered who was speaking to them, Jacen drew a data pad from his pocket and handed it to Dr. Augustine. Reluctantly, she took the data pad from him; she searched his eyes, attempting to find his intention before she looked down to scanned over its contents. Jacen noticed the flutter in her eyes as she failed to hide her shock at what she was reading.

"I completed all the required training that was assigned to me, as well as receiving the highest marks that were possible," Jacen stated in a matter-of-factly tone.

"I also wanted to apologize for my actions yesterday. It was rash and uncalled for, especially to a superior," he spoke, knowing that he had her off balance.

"Noted," she dryly responded, pressing her tongue into the side of her cheek.

Leaning on the desk next to her, Dr. Augustine searched Jacen's face for some angle that he was playing, hoping the silence would force a response from him to hide his uneasiness of the situation given the events that transpired previously. Except he just stood there motionless, like he was anticipating an outlasted response.

"Well, don't expect me to treat you any differently. I need competent people, not some person here on a joy ride." Her tone was not changing, breaking the silence.

"Whatever it is, I will do it. I don't want to be a burden to this department," Jacen responded as he felt himself standing a little bit straighter.

"Good, because burdens leave in body bags here." With that, Dr. Augustine turned and left the workstation.

Max, who was standing next to her, gave a childish thumbs up as he smiled at Jacen. He reached back over and grabbed the data pad that Dr. Augustine left on the desk. Studying it, Max was impressed to see what he was able to do in such a short time.

"This is a good start. Keep this up and she will probably talk to you like a normal person," he sarcastically remarked at Jacen.

"But first, I have something that you really would want to see," Max's tone flared with excitement.

Beaming with excitement like a child at Christmas, Max hopped off the workstation and moved through the crowd of desks and lab equipment. People in the lab returned to their work and moved between them, unphased by Jacen's presence as they approached a massive holding vessel with hose protruding from the tank at all angles. Just before they could see the contents of the container, Max spun on his heel and held up his hands, halting Jacen in his tracks.

"I always love seeing this look," he said like he was hiding a surprise.

In slow, orderly motion, Max began to walk backward as he motioned for Jacen to follow him. Solid steel gave away to clear glass that contained light blue liquid, illuminated by lights that ran the length of the cylinder's glass body. As confusion and intrigue burst through his mind, he studied the container, wondering what he was supposed to find, and then he saw it!

"Wow!" Jacen breathed out, words failing to formulate in his mind.

In front of him was himself! Standing there, mouth gaping open, investigating his face. Well, not a mirror image of his face, but the same features that he possessed. Joy and excitement coursed through his veins as he gazed at his avatar.

The facial structure bore his resemblance like hiss minus the sizable flat nose and blue skin that was predominantly displayed. Venturing over, he noticed the more enormous eyes and what he would describe as tiger stripes marked the entirety of the body. Jet-black hair covered the massive head that was easily the size of Jacen's midsection.

Taking a step back, he took on the grand scale that this being was. The avatar was boasting ten feet of height, which far surpassed anything found on Earth that walked on two legs. Jacen was taken aback by the thick bands of muscle that covered the lengthy avatar body. He then looked down at his body with a new view of his weak and frail state.

"I always love seeing people's faces," Max beamed, taking in Jacen's excitement.

Max reached over and placed a hand on Jacen's shoulder, returning him to reality. Max could feel the anticipation and excitement radiating off of him as they smiled at the multi-million-dollar creation floating in the tank. Jacen could feel in his being the altered direction he was about to go, but for good or bad he did not know yet.

"It's ready to be taken out today," Max said, looking at the readings on the outer hull of the tank.

Jacen turned in shock at the prospect of basically switching bodies with that. Feeling the rush of adrenaline course through his body at the prospect of the unknown was quickly muted by a dark thought brewing in his mind. Suspicion grew, as a fear that he was the butt end of a joke enveloped his joy.

"I'm serious; they fully matured on your trip out here, so they are ready to go," he said after seeing the suspicious look Jacen was giving him.

Rushing past him, Max ushered Jacen to follow him over to another room. Passing through a heavy door, they entered a smaller room that housed glossy black floors. Surveying the room, Jacen noticed a circle of monitors in the center of the room. Along the outer wall of the room, grey, box-like chambers lay perpendicular to the wall in a uniform pattern.

With pace, Max moved through the room to one of the boxes that had its lid open, tapping fervently on the monitor that hung next to the bed. Jacen cautiously moved behind him, peeking around the corner to see the contents of the container.

Inside the container was a green gel-like substance that was etched out to hold a human form in it. Curiosity peaked as he pressed a finger into the cold gel substance of the bed and watched it return to its original shape almost immediately. Chuckling to himself with childlike excitement, Max turned to see what he was doing behind him.

"The gel's design helps reduce skin breakdown and pressure ulcers. Your body will be stagnant for long periods without the ability to rotate your position," Max educated Jacen on the contents of the chamber.

"Now, I will need you to lay down and get comfortable," he instructed, patting Jacen on the back.

Rolling into the bed, Jacen felt a cold sensation envelop his body as the gel displaced his body heat. After Jace adjusted himself into a comfortable position, Max reached over and moved a metal skeleton-like cast over his body. Wrapping his mind around what was going to happen, he forced a breath out.

"Why do I need to clear my mind?" Jacen asked, looking up at Max.

"It's because it's easier for the system to make a connection with your neural network and transfer it. It's hard for the system to get access to your neural pathways if the activity is going on in that location," Max replied.

The answer was sufficient for Jacen and as Max closed the lid on the bed, the feeling encased in the coffin became prominent. Making him a little uneasy, he nervously looked around the space as the only light came from the wires, casting the area in a very green hue. Pushing the thoughts back, he closed his eyes and cleared his mind.

As the last thought left his mind, he felt as if his body was being ripped up and hurled to this blinding light. Reflexively, Jacen tried to make his body grab something to slow the progress or do anything to feel like he had some sort of control to no avail.

A blinding white light clouded everything as his mind came to a crashing halt. Reflexively, he put his hand up to block the light and felt relieved that he could feel the weight of his arm that followed his command. Moments later, a fuzzy picture came into focus and grew clearer as his eyes adjusted to the light.

"Jacen, how are you feeling?" A muffled voice pierced through the haze.

A blurry person in white came into the picture, waving a yellow light over each eye to stimulate the pupils and gauge their sensitivity to the light. The other blurry person next to him snapped his fingers to stimulate a response from the ears as they twitched, reacting positively to the sharp sound.

"What's going on?" Jacen questioned in his mind, still a little clouded.

"You're in your new body, Jacen," the muffled medical person spoke.

"What?" He replied, his mind finally coming to.

Lifting his head, he looked down to see that he was no longer in his body, but in his avatar's. Bringing his hands up, he went through all their range of motions to get a feel for the new form. Everything still tingled like his whole body had been asleep for a minute, but as he moved his hands and arms, the feeling quickly subsided.

"Good, Jacen." The medic started watching as Jacen moved his hands and fingers.

"Are you feeling any pain?" Another questioned, as they examined the avatar.

"No, it feels great!" Jacen breathed out as joy began to build in him.

"Alright, let's get you up and have your legs swing over the side."

With that, the two medics assisted Jacen as he sat up straight. During the rapid change in position, his head began to swim as one of the physicians rotated his legs to hang off the bed. After a moment, he could feel his equilibrium returning as he looked down at the small people all around him.

"Alright, let's touch each finger to your thumb," the medic asked.

Jacen followed, touching each finger with his thumb. It was still crazy to him that he was in a completely different body, and he wondered what his family would have thought of him like this.

"Good, let's stand you up and test your balance."

Jacen lifted off of the bed and wobbled a bit. Something from behind him thudded on the gurney as people behind him took cover. Turning to see what was happening, more equipment crashed as a medical cart slammed into the wall, sending instruments to the ground.

"Your tail, Jacen!" Someone shouted at him.

"My what?" He questioned, looking behind him.

He caught another person square in the chest, taking him off his feet and straight into the wall. Reflexively reacting to aid the woman, his tail found the gurney and sent it rolling across the room into another person as a monitor pinned him.

"Get him out of here!" One of the medics pointing at him shouted.

Opening the door, two of the standing medical people helped navigate him to the door as a blinding light clouded his vision. The bright day, which was a stark contrast to the day of his arrival, forced his eyes to readjust again. Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply, taking in the Pandora air as a smile formed across his lips.

Surveying the area, he noticed that there were other avatars, in everyday clothing, out doing various activities. The ones closest to him were playing basketball with what looked like a child's ball that fits comfortably in the palm of their hands. The fluidity of their movements indicated that they had spent some time in their avatar bodies.

Beyond that was an oversized obstacle course compared to the human-size figures that stood next to it, inputting their finds. Avatars clambered through the wooden structure with varying degrees of difficulty, ascending tall ladders and ducking under massive logs.

His shaky legs gave way to secure purposeful steps as his mind adjusted to the new body. Soon he was running through the area, just bursting with this newfound energy; it felt as if life had given him a second chance. Skidding to a halt under a massive tree, he took in the sights and smelled the section of the base void of concrete and steel.

"You must be the new guy," a cheerful voice called out to him.

Turning to the sound, he saw another male avatar making his way over to him, waving to draw Jacen's attention. As he came closer, Jacen could see that he had a similar face structure as him, but his chin came more to a point. He wore a light brown shirt along with khaki cargo pants and had his jet-black hair done up in a knot on top of his head.

"How could you tell?" Jacen questioned once he was in earshot.

"Well, you are the only one out here with their ass hanging out," he chuckled, pointing to the gown.

Looking down, Jacen wrapped the excess fabric around his backside in slight embarrassment, thinking about who saw him running through the compound. Returning his eyes to the guy, he saw that he had his hand extended towards him.

"My name is Mark. Mark Davis." He spoke in a formal tone.

"Jacen King, nice to meet you," taking his hand and shaking it.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught movement that was bearing down on him. Reflexively with his other hand, he shot up and grabbed the object as his head jerked back. Surprise crossed both party's faces as they looked at the weird fruit thing that was in his hand.

"Nice to see your motor functions are normal," a female voice called out to them.

Tracking back the direction the fruit came from, they saw a female avatar saunter over, accentuating her hip swings while she approached them. It was clear from her gait that this person preferred the avatar body over her human form. Studying her features, Jacen was taken aback by the beauty this avatar possessed. A pleasant surprise was replaced with utter shock as he recognized the face the avatar possessed.

"Dr. Augustine!" Jacen shouted as she stopped in front of them.

"Who did you expect, dipshit, Santa?" She shot back, giving him a playful smile.

"Don't worry, Jacen, she is much nicer in this body than the other one," Mark added sarcastically.

Dr. Augustine Invoked a sharp slap to Mark's midsection that caused him to bend over from the surprise hit. Laughing it off, Mark returned to his full height as he rubbed his midsection. Returning her attention to Jacen, she looked down at the fruit he still held in his hand.

"Are you going to eat that?" Dr. Augustine asked, pointing to the fruit.

Looking back at it, he turned it around in his hand, studying the weird bluish fruit. It had a texture that resembled a dragon fruit back on Earth, but probably tasted nothing like it. Pulling it to his nose, he sniffed it slightly, and to his surprise, it had a sweet earthy smell to it.

Jacen's mouth was overwhelmed with the juices the fruit secreted as his teeth sunk into the fruit's soft skin. The juices that poured out had a sweet and tart taste to it that danced around his taste buds. A surprised expression was across his face as the other two laughed at his look as Jacen devoured the fruit.

Wiping the remaining contents of the fruit onto his gown, Dr. Augustine turned and motioned for Jacen to follow. She led him over to the solid wood structure that held oversized lockers which contained clothing sized for the avatars. Selecting full length, light brown pants and a light blue shirt, Jacen changed out of his medical gown and put on the new clothes.

As Jacen exited the building in his new clothes, Dr. Augustine was waiting outside like a mother waiting on her child. He couldn't help but notice how different Dr. Augustine's demeanor was while she was in her avatar body. She was kind and dare he says friendly to him, not knowing which form of her he would encounter.

Keeping his guard up, Jacen followed Dr. Augustine over to the obstacle course. Informing Jacen of the expectation, she sent him on his way. After each attempt, Jacen could feel the coordination of his body growing stronger and stronger with each pass. Instead of being a lumbering giant, he began to move through the course with a smoothness that was an echo to his human form.

Dusk began to settle on the compound as the group of avatars made their way to the house where they slept. The group of the avatars filed into the house and began to prepare to fall asleep. Seeing the mass migration, Jacen followed the others into the wooden house.

Entering the house, he saw avatars moving amongst their human counterparts as they settled down for the night. The building housed at least ten beds on each side, with most of the beds already occupied by avatars. Jacen found a vacant bed, sat down, and felt a sharp pain that elicited a tiny yelp from him. Avatars that were close enough to hear the noise turned and chuckled as Jacen sat on his tail, indicating that he still had a lot to learn about his new body.

Finally, after finding a way to sit comfortably, he pulled his long braid to the front to look at it. Analyzing it, he noticed that the hair did not come undone and was uncomfortable when he attempted to unweave it. At the base of the braid, black hairs fell to the side to reveal pink tendril-looking things that moved entirely on their own and looked like they were searching for something.

"Don't play with that or you will go blind, Jacen," Dr. Augustine warned, noticing his curiosity from afar.

Heeding her warning, Jacen tucked it back behind him as he laid down on the bed. Trying to find a comfortable position that did not involve his tail being crushed, he opted to lay on his side. Moments later, the lights begin to systematically click off as the nighttime noises started to pour in to fill the void.

"Alright kitties, see you on the other side," Dr. Augustine chimed out as the last light went out.

Closing his eyes, he felt the pull of his consciousness being thrown back into his other body. He was probably never going to get used to that. As his eyes fluttered to life, the top of the machine opened up, revealing Max's friendly smile.

"How was your first trip?" Max asked as he helped Jacen up.

Jacen, feeling weak from everything, was surprised at the physical toll his body took while his mind was in the avatar's body. Sweat clung to his shirt and hair, making him feel self-conscious that he probably did not smell very well either.

"It was unbelievable," he breathed out, reflecting on the events of the day.

Max helped him swing his legs over and Jacen hopped out of the machine. After a couple of wobbly steps, he regained his footing and was able to walk unassisted. Max was still next to him in case his legs gave out.

"Hey, Max, can I ask you a question?" Jacen asked in a small voice.

"Sure," the question catching Max a bit by surprise.

"What is the deal with Dr. Augustine? At first, she was for lack of better terms an asshole to me, and out there, she is like a completely different person," Jacen questioned as he looked at Max to gauge his expressions.

"Well, it's complicated," Max breathed out as he lowered his voice.

"She was brought here to win the locals over as well as understand the life that grows here on Pandora. The only issue is that she keeps getting stonewalled by the RDA before any real progress happens," Max answered as he slowed his stride while maintaining his distant gaze.

"I can see how that can get frustrating," Jacen replied.

"Her real dream is to be invited into one of the Na'vi tribes so she can make real progress rather than observe from the outside. Granted, she has had the most contact with them to allow her to learn their language, but they have always been skeptical of us and for a good reason," Max pointed out.

"I understand," Jacen said as things began to click in his head.

As Jacen was leaving Max's presence after thanking him for his time, he caught a glimpse of Dr. Augustine out of the corner of his eye, studying her as they went. Feeling something terrible would surely come from their interaction, he headed for the mess hall to grab some food and hopefully see Cara.

Grabbing the food, he scanned the busy mess hall to catch Cara sitting somewhere, but to his disappointment, she was nowhere to be seen. Breathing out a sigh, he made his way over to a vacant spot at the end of a table and ate quietly by himself.

After taking the first bite of his food, his body realized in a sudden shock of how hungry it was and forced Jacen to consume his food much faster than he would have liked. In a matter of minutes, his tray was empty, and his stomach ached from the rapid change. Getting up from the table, he returned his plate and headed to the quiet sanctuary of his room.

Opening the door, he flopped into his bed and pulled the monitor towards him. As he was logging in, he felt something different about his room that made him feel uneasy. Pushing the monitor away, he peeked out from his rack and surveyed the room.

"Hey there, roommate!"

A face popped in front of him, sending Jacen reeling back into his rack. His heart pounded in his ears as he studied the face that was looking at him upside down. He recognized the face but couldn't place where he had seen it before.

"It's Mark from earlier! I know I don't have the blue skin; it throws people off," Mark chuckled as he watched Jacen realize who it was.

"Damn it. You scared the shit out of me," Jacen shot back.

"But it was worth it," Mark pointed out, smiling at Jacen.

"Alright," he replied, thinking about ways to get Mark back.

As the thumping of his heartbeat subsided in his ears, Jacen sat up in his rack. Mark rolled out of his rack and grabbed a chair and placed it in front of him.

"So tell me about yourself," Jacen offered.

"Whelp, I'm from Earth as you probably know," waving his hand as the sarcastic came out.

"In all seriousness, I graduated from Stanford like Dr. Augustine. We were in the same graduating class, but I never knew her," Mark said as he reflected on a time long ago.

"I graduated with a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in laden terms, then I heard about this opportunity to come here. I signed up the first chance I got and killed myself for five years to come here. I was in the first group of avatar pilots and one of the few that didn't kill their avatar. You would be surprised how much we have learned in such a short time," Mark stated as he waved his finger in front of him.

"Tell me about yourself," Mark asked as he settled back into his chair.

"Well, I'm from Earth, just like you," Jacen said, following Mark's joke.

"I went to private school most of my life and went to Yale under my parent's suggestion. I came out with a master's in business management and that was it," Jacen replied, keeping it short and sweet.

"How did you end up here?" Mark questioned, leaning forward in his seat.

"Well," Jacen muttered, rubbing his neck.

"Ah, come on, it's no big deal! I'm not here to judge," Mark replied, trying to coax more information out of him.

"Well, I know some people on the RDA board that paid for my way here," he breathed out, trying to keep it as vague as possible.

"Damn," Mark whistled.

"Who do you know on the board that would pay for your trip here?" Mark questioned as he became intrigued by his new roommate.

"Eh, I don't want to talk about it," Jacen retorted, getting a little irritated.

"You can't drop a bombshell like that and leave me hanging," Mark stated with excitement and a little frustration in his voice.

"Well, how did you end up as my roommate? You have been here for a while," Jacen shot back, trying to change the topic.

"They wanted to condense us, so they moved me here," Mark replied, figuring that he was not going to get any more information out of him.

"Huh," Jacen responded, not satisfied with the answer.

"Well, I'm going to grab some rack, and I suggest you do the same. Grace likes to keep us on a tight schedule."

With that, Mark slapped his knee and got up from the chair. Returning the chair to where it belonged, he climbed back up into his rack and shut the curtain that afforded them the little privacy that they had.

Hearing the metal rings sliding across the bar, Jacen did the same with his as he pulled his monitor towards him and logged in. Scrolling through, he checked to see if he had any pending assignments and a feeling of relief washed over as he had none. Turning off the monitor, he returned it to its holding compartment and fell back into his pillow.

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading! I hope to hear from ya'll. Si arayo!


	4. Chapter 3

-630-

Alarms buzz from the monitors, echoing one another. Stirring in the racks began as Mark and Jacen registered their calls. Fighting the urge to ignore the alerts, Mark was the first to silence his monitor and swing out of the top rack. Jacen hearing the dull thud as Mark hit the deck and moved to the bathroom in a sleepish state.

Through the slits of his eyes, Jacen saw Mark staggering into the bathroom in a trance to start his morning routine, reluctantly reaching out from under the covers exposing himself to the cold air. Successfully silencing the alarm on the first pass, making no attempt to remove his body from the bed, instead opting to there and collect himself. Hearing a dull click, the lights in the room flashed to life, penetrating through Jacen's sleepy state.

Gronning, he swung his legs out from the covers and lifted himself out of his rack. Making his way over to the locker Jacen to retrieve his clothes and started his morning routine. Taking longer than they both expected, they both fumbled around in the tight space attempting to complete the morning tasks before they left their room.

Eventually, after much annoyance and moaning, they finished getting ready and made their way to the mess hall. Without a word shared between them, Jacen followed Mark through the corridors to mess hall, relieved that he did not have to navigate by himself again. Following Mark like a baby duckling, they received their morning meals and made their way over to an empty table and plopped down.

Cara, entering the mess hall, saw Jacen off in a corner and made her way over to him. Sliding into the seat next to him half expecting to catch Jacen by surprise was confused about how he just droned on eating his meal, never taking his eyes off of his meal. Nudging him in the side with her elbow, she felt Jacen's muscle tighten in a reflexive shock of being touched.

"Huh," Jacen jumping at the touch, whipped his head around to spot the assailant.

"Good morning," Cara sat there, smiling childishly, making light of the situation.

Jacen was elated with joy at seeing his friend this morning that his body took control and reached out to hug her. Wrapping his arms around her like a schoolchild caught all three of them by surprise. Mark drawing his attention away from his food, witnessed Jacen's face growing flusher as he released the girl that sat next to him.

"I'm happy to see you too," still registering the hug that Jacen had them in.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me," Jacen replied in a small voice releasing Cara.

"No, you're fine; it just caught me off guard," waving Jacen off, trying to play down the embrace.

"So, who's your friend over there?" Cara tossed her thumb to the guy on the opposite side of the table.

"Oh, that's Mark, he is in the avatar program like me," answering happily that the attention was no longer on him.

"Yeah, I'm Mark, and you are?" Wiping his hand off on his pants before extending it towards her.

"My name is Cara," taking Mark's extended hand and shaking hit.

"So, what's your business here on Pandora?" Questioning her as he attempted to figure out how those two met.

"I'm here to protect equipment and personnel when they go beyond the compound," answering as she motioned to her clothes.

"Ah," registering the clothes that she was wearing only further confusing Mark on how these two met.

The group collectively returned to eating their meals as they shared their experiences so far on Pandora. Mark taking the brunt of the conversation, held the attention of the other two as he told them all the experiences that he had been through thus far. Mark was feeling a surge of pride as he told his tales, almost forgetting what it was like to share his experiences with people that were a couple of days old.

"Wow, I never thought you science guys would see any action like that," Cara exclaimed out, still trying to wrap her head around the stories that she was hearing.

"Well, I better get moving before they have my ass," clapping her hands above her tray.

Standing up and grabbing her tray, she left the table as the guys waved and said their goodbye's. Silence fell over the table again as they finished their breakfast and put their trays away. Mark looking down at his watch, satisfied that they were still on time escorted Jacen back to the research wing of the compound.

As the pair entered the wing, they were met with a flurry of activity as carts rolled in front of them, carrying a massive backpack that could easily fit a full-grown adult, if he folded himself. Teams of researchers lifted equipment and placed them into these backpacks, Dr. Augustine stood amongst the torrent of activity issuing orders. Wondering what was going on, Jacen turned to see Mark with a smile etched across his lips.

'What's going on?" Jacen asked, intrigued by the activities going around them.

"Looks like we are heading off the compound to do something," Mark replied.

"What does that mean for me?" Wondering what was going to happen with him since Mark and Dr. Augustine were leaving.

"Beats me, that is purely up to Dr. Augustine," looking over to Jacen, seeing the disappointment beginning to form on his face.

"Ah, don't worry, she hasn't said no to you," soothing Jacen before clapping him on the shoulder.

"When she tells you no…" breaking off as he looked up to see Dr. Augustine glimpsing at them.

Grace handing the data pad with the checklist of supplies over to Max, who never trailed too far from her, took off towards Mark and Jacen. Jacen could feel his heart sink as Dr. Augustine approached the pair. Her stoic face failed to provide Jacen with any comfort as she stopped a couple of feet from the pair.

"Good morning, Grace," Mark warmly greeted her.

"You too," was the only response that she gave them as she eyed Jacen.

"Alright, get ready for a little field trip, so grab your little butt buddy here and get your stuff and head down to the link chambers," catching Jacen and Mark off guard.

With that, Dr. Augustine spun on her heel and left them in stunned silence. With his mouth hanging open, Jacen turned to gauge what Mark thought of the new information. Seeing Mark in the same state left Jacen feeling a little bit better about himself.

"You're one lucky son-of-a-bitch," Mark commented, walking towards one of the backpacks.

"What do you mean?" Following Mark on his heels.

"Grace doesn't take new people outside the compound in their avatars. They see it as more of a liability to the group since they have to cater to the new person." Pointing out rather dryly to Jacen.

Mark grabbed one of the carts holding the oversized backpack and started going through its contents. Pulling out each piece, he turned them over in his hands, inspecting them before repacking it to his liking. The other people eventually catching on, began handing the equipment directly to him so he could pack it himself.

"Well, what should I do then?" Jacen hesitantly questioned.

"Stick with me and try not to piss off Dr. Augustine," turning back and winking at Jacen.

Taking the hint, he stood there quietly, fumbling with his hands watching the others pack the equipment. Feeling more useless than usual, he did his best to avoid people as they moved around him as they placed gear on the cart for Mark to pack.

"Hey, numb nuts! Why don't you make yourself useful and get in the link chamber," Dr. Augustine shouted, spotting Jacen standing there with his lost expression in the middle of the room.

Jacen snapping too, made his way through the room to where the link chambers were. Finding one of the attendants, Jacen tapped her on the shoulder and relayed the message from Dr. Augustine. Following the instructions with an eye rolled, she prepped the link on the monitor near her as Jacen went and laid down in the bed, prepping his mind for the uncomfortable sensation.

The attendant came over and went through the prechecks with Jacen before closing the lid sealing him in. Clearing his mind, the rush of this body flying came a lot quicker than his anticipated as he attempted to brace himself, knowing that it mattered little. Moments later, he came too in his avatar body, fighting off the tingling sensation that swept over him.

Rising from his bed, he found last night; he made his way over to the exit passing other avatars still sleeping in their beds. Stepping outside, observing the early dawn sun peeking over the horizon, painting the sky in a deep golden hue. Filling his lungs with the brisk morning air gave his body the much-needed stimulation that was unfounded anywhere on Earth.

Off in the distance, Jacen stopped someone in military fatigues, waving him down. Assuming that he was calling for him, he made his way over to the individual, to his relief, the man asked if he was Jacen nodding in confirmation. The man tapping on his data pad turn and escorted him to the flight deck.

Passing through the chain-linked fences that guarded the entrance Jacen was meet with a strong gust of wind that staggered him. Catching himself, he leaned into the wind as one of the helicopters took flight as it made its ascent the dominating wind turned to a light breeze before the aircraft was no longer in sight. Looking around for where he needed to be, Jacen spotted carts that held the backpacks that they were packing circling one of the helicopters off in the distance.

Figuring that this is where he was supposed to go, he passed through the airfield over to the helicopter. On his approach, two figures emerged from the side farthest to him; one of them wore a gray flight suit and the other in full military gear carrying an oversized rifle each donning oxygen masks. Neither of them noticing Jacen's presence hoisted the oversized gun fixing it to a free-floating mount on the side of the helicopter.

"Hey, you must be Jacen," noticing the approaching avatar.

"Yeah, that's me," smiling as he looked down at the pair.

"The name is Trudy, and I'm the one that flies you science guys around out here," giving him a half-hearted salute.

"Nice to meet you," extending his hand just before realizing what he was doing.

"Yeah, you're twice the size of me, but a nice gesture," reacting to the oversized hand, extended her direction.

"You're right," retracting his hand, wiping the sweat off his palms from embarrassment.

Cara hoisting up the heavy gun and dropped it into the mount. Hearing the satisfying click, tugged on the weapon, double-check the lock the mount had. The last thing she needed was for the gun to fly off in mid-flight. Satisfied with her work, she turned to tell Trudy that it was finished and noticed an oversized blue person with its hand extended towards Trudy rather awkwardly.

'Man, this must be a new guy,' she thought to herself.

Then something caught her attention as she did a pass over its face. That avatar had a striking resemblance to Jacen, but there was no way the RDA would send a fresh recruit out into the bush. Studying the face and its mannerisms, it became more and more apparent that it was Jacen!

"What the hell," Cara exclaimed, breaking the awkward tension.

Jacen spinning his head around to the muffled sound of Cara's voice sent a joyous shock through him. 'There was no way that they would put us together on this flight,' he thought, but as he looked at the glass mask, he saw her bright smile and knew without a doubt that it was her. Jacen rushed over with childish joy, physically sweeping her off her feet as a child were lifting a doll up.

"Alright, chill Jacen," Cara ordered him as she was lifted off her feet and flayed about in his arms helplessly.

Jacen realized what he had done as he looked at the toddler-sized human in his hands. She was giving him a disapproving look as she hung their limp in his hands. Gentling placing her on her feet, taking a step back and apologized profusely.

Cara feeling her feet securely on the ground, adjusted her armor to a more comfortable position. Hearing Jacen's fervent apologies, she tried to calm him down. Making the situation worse, Mark and Dr. Augustine appeared from behind them in their avatar bodies sporting smug expressions.

"Picking on the smaller guy, I see," Dr. Augustine clicked her tongue in a disapproving manner.

"No, I swear I didn't mean too!" Attempting to defend himself.

"God, it's way too easy to pick on you," Dr. Augustine sarcastically stated as she slapped him upside his head.

Mark passed between the two, reached down to retrieve his bag off the cart chuckling at Jacen's embarrassing situation. Climbing aboard, he secured his sack to the bulkhead before buckled himself into the seat, Dr. Augustine followed in suit strapping herself next to him. Looking into the cabin, Jacen noticed that they took both of the seats and started wondering where he was going to sit.

"Hey, Jacen, you're going to need this," elbowing Jacen to get his attention.

Drawing his attention downward, Jacen noticed what Trudy was holding the handles of a cart. Mounted to the cart in front of them was a heavy machine gun, releasing the locking mechanisms and grabbed the cold metal rifle. Examining the weapon, he took into account the oversized proportion denoting the user being an avatar.

"I also need you on a door gun if you can handle that?" Questioning him with her hands crossing her chest.

"Yes, I can," Jacen answered, trying to display some competence to the group.

Making his way over to the mount, Jacen fumbled as he tried to secure the rifle to the free-floating mount. Laughing at his attempt, Trudy jumped in and held the mount still so he could click it into place. Hearing the click, Trudy checked the hold before reaching up to obtain a safety line and unbuckle one end of it. Instructing Jacen to jump up and turn around so that she could clip him in.

Standing there with a single line that would secure him to the aircraft, Jacen understood where he would be during this flight. Forcing down the thoughts of falling to his death, he forced his body to jump up into the helicopter and get clipped in. As Trudy opened the single door to the cockpit, the surge of flight or fight reflexes kicked in as his mind began to panic as the helicopter roared to life.

'You need to do this,' psyching himself up as the deafening noise of the propellers grew.

As the helicopter lurched up, Jacen leaned onto the gun for support to only feel it giving away. His stomach lurched as his body swung forward as the mount gave in to the pressure he was putting on it. To his relief, he felt the safety line snap-tight as he flung back into the cabin.

Dr. Augustine and Mark witnessing the events erupted into a roar of laughter at Jacen's expense, causing Cara to turn around to see what was going on. Cara saw Jacen flailing about trying to grab the bar above him. Tossing her head back, she joined the others in their laughter as Jacen's panic sounds passed through the comms.

"Pull yourself together back there," Trudy ordered, trying not to laugh at the flailing avatar.

"You're going to scratch the paint," hearing a thud of the rifle connecting with the side of the helicopter.

Jacen's desperate hand found the rail above him and grabbed it for dear life. As the violent motion of his body subsided, he lowered himself down and squared his feet underneath him on the platform as the aircraft rose into the air. Securing his balance, he tried to still his racing heart as the ascent dissipated, giving away to forward motion.

Feeling the nose dipping, Jacen leaned back as the helicopter cut through the air. The rush of wind across his body did not settle his nerves as they ate up kilometers making their way to the site. Looking down at the rushing trees that blurred together to form a raging river of deep green, his mind began to wander to thoughts of what would happen if he fell.

'Come on, you're fine,' forcing the thoughts back.

Looking forward down the side of the aircraft, he spotted flying creatures up ahead in a formation. As they moved into the middle of the group, Jacen saw the bright colors on the beast's skin. Getting close to a couple of animals, they hissed at them through sharp dagger-like teeth, informing them that they did not appreciate their presence.

Pressing through the formation, the rushing sea of trees below them gave away to a steep drop off. Jacen felt his stomach lurch up as they dropped from their flight path and hugged the side of the rock face as they made their descent. Jacen cried out, releasing the tension building in his body; his cries echoed with laughter from the others.

Leveling out, Jacen could hear the dull roar of rushing water over the noise of the propellers, opening his eyes to see the rush of mist coming at him as they passed next to a waterfall. The brisk freshwater pelted his skin as they moved close to the water before breaking away. His nerves began to settle, feeling the water the pooled on his cheeks run across it. Departing the waterfall revealed a massive deep blue lake beneath them.

Taking in the picturesque scenery, Jacen forgot for that moment that he was fly as he absorbed all of Pandora's beauty. The harmony of the lush green trees that coated the edge of the deep blue lake left him feeling in awe. Unbeknownst to him, he lifted himself from his perch and extended out like his body calling out to be out in the forest. Realizing what he was doing, he retracted back into the safety of the cabin and holding firm the railing and weapon before the craft banked left with the course leveling out his nerves settled as they continued on their flight path.

Before long, they came to a clearing in the forest that was large enough for them to land without hitting anything or damaging the propellers. Staring down at the ground as came towards them, Jacen wished that his stomach would give up and settle as it tried to jump out of his mouth with every correction that Trudy did. When they were feet above the ground, he gave up and prepared to jump out of the helicopter, desperately wanting to be on solid ground again.

Unclipping his buckle behind him and unsecured the rifle, he jumped out and hit the ground with a thud, drawing his gun to his shoulder he swept the area in front of him as he saw in military movies that he watched back home. Not fully understanding what he was looking for the advanced forward as the helicopter settled to the ground behind him. Jacen heard distorted voices followed by the winding down of the propellers as Trudy settled them on the ground.

Dr. Augustine and Mark unbuckled in unison as they grabbed the three packs secured to the bulkhead. Putting on the bags as they exited the craft bearing in mind the still active propellers, and moved swiftly away from the aircraft. Once they cleared the area, Grace returned her full height just before Mark went back to grab the pack for Jacen.

Grabbing Jacen's pack, he turned to see Jacen fully engaged in his role sweeping the treeline with his weapon. Chuckling softly to himself at how serious he was taking the task; he went over and slapped his backside with the pack. Making Jacen jump at the impact, he brought his weapon to bear only to be met by a heavy hand grabbing the barrel.

"Chill out; you're making us nervous," Mark laughed at the shocked expression on Jacen's face.

Nodding in acknowledgment, Jacen lowered his weapon and put on the pack that Mark was holding. Taking the strap fixed to the firearm, he slung it off of his shoulder before falling in behind Mark as they met up with Dr. Augustine.

"Trudy, we will be here for a while, so don't get bored," Dr. Augustine spoke as she held the collar that was around her throat.

"Grace, we are ready to go when you are," Mark cut in, trying to gain Dr. Augustine's attention.

"Well, how was the flight?" Dr. Augustine questioned even though she knew he would fake a response.

"It was good, Dr…"

"Its Grace out here, so stop with formalities," cutting him off.

"Okay, Grace," Trying it out in a small voice.

"Alright, since we have that established, let's move out," Ordering the pair before making her way to the forest edge.

Mark fell in behind Grace, and Jacen followed in suit. Just before the party made any distance, Jacen felt a tug on his hand and looked down to see Cara holding it with both of her hands. Feeling how delicately she held his hand, he wondered what was going through her mind.

"Be careful out there," she spoke softly.

"I will be," reassuring her.

They exchanged smiles just before Jacen broke away from her and jogged to catch up with the other two who didn't notice Jacen's falling behind. Cara stood there looking at Jacen's avatar as they entered the tree line and disappeared wishing she could go with them to protect Jacen. Silencing the thought, she went back to help with the post-flight checks with Trudy.

As the party went deeper into the forest, the sounds of the forest grew in turn. Jacen taking up the rear of the group, took in the sights and sounds of Pandora from its floor. The idea of this much natural life was a foreign concept to him, especially compared to Earth. There was nothing green there but only in recreated areas and movies of times long ago.

Creatures swung from trees high above them, gathering food from the branches while watching the group walking along the floor. Jacen felt like they were toying with his nerves as at random, they would stop what they were doing to stare at him. Gripping his weapon tighter, he looked ahead to see how Grace and Mark were reacting. To his surprise, they paid the creatures above them no mind as they continued to path find through the forest floor.

Jacen prayed hard to quiet the thoughts of how anything on Pandora could kill him, causing him to lose where he was and run into the back of Mark. The unanticipated impact sent Mark staggering forward, nearly avoiding running into Grace. Spinning around to let Jacen have it revealed him with surprised shock on his face as he clutched his weapon.

"Walking with your eyes closed is a terrible idea," Mark spat out, cutting off Jacen before he could apologize.

"We are here, grab the probes from the pack," Grace directed, paying no mind to whatever was going on with them.

Shifting his attention from Jacen, Mark swung the pack around to his front and retrieved the items. Meeting Grace at the area, they began to remove the soil delicately, not disturbing the root system that laid beneath. Intrigued by this, Jacen watched as they methodically removed the dirt with the utmost care.

Grace, satisfied with what she found, told Mark to grab the device with the probe and handed it to her. Taking the two leads, she gave him in his hands; he slowly inserted them into the exposed root. Grace played with sensitivity on the device until she got the clear picture that she wanted.

"Jacen, come look at this," waving at him to come over.

Following her instructions, he came beside her and squatted down to her level. Look at the pulsing lights on the screen, not knowing what he was supposed to see. He turned his head from the device to look up to Grace to see her beaming.

"You see the dark structures there; those are the roots," Grace running her finger along with the screen, outlining the root structure.

"Now, do you see the pulsing light?" Looking up to see Jacen nodding.

"Those are electrical pulses. What is special about these pulses they are very similar to the ones that we find in our brain. The implication of this is that forest is some sort of neural network!" Grace boasted, tapping on the glass of the device.

"So, what does that mean?" Jacen questioned, feeling the enthusiasm radiating off of Grace.

"I'm dying to find out. All of this is just a theory at the moment based on data we have collected and observation made in the field. I know it sounds crazy, but this is something that we need to understand and protect." Hearing the enthusiasm fading from her voice.

"I understand," Jacen replied, trying to restore her optimism.

"Anyways, Mark, grab the marked vials that we brought and begin collecting samples," Grace snapping back to the task at hand.

Reaching into his pack, Mark retrieved the marked vials and distributed them evenly amongst the three. Jacen picking up the bottles studied them and noticed that some of them held clear liquid, and others held nothing in them. Grace seeing Jacen studying the vials, made her feel hopeful for him. Grace tapping him on the shoulder informed him of the purpose of the vials, and what contents went into them. Following her instructions, Jacen filled the bottles as they moved from area to area, collecting samples.

As dusk began to settle on the forest, the three emerged from the forest and returned to the helicopter. Cara was pacing around the perimeter for the aircraft waiting for the arrival of Jacen and the others. Spotting Jacen off in the distance made her heart soar as she waved at him enthusiastically happy to see that nothing had happened to him. Jacen noticing Cara waving at him made Jacen's heart swell as he waved back at her glad to see that nothing had happened to her.

"Glad to see you didn't get yourself killed," Cara joked as the group fell within earshot.

"Me too, but it wasn't as bad at there as everyone is making it out to be," Jacen pointed out, reflecting on the day's events.

"Yeah, but don't let that consume you because the minute you become complacent, Pandora will end you," Mark warned Jacen.

"Alright, Trudy, let us get out of here!" Grace suggested pressing her fingers to her collar.

Trudy agreeing started going through the pre-flight checks and fired up the engines as she flipped switches on the panel above. Just as they sprang to life, one of the propellers suddenly stopped grinding to a halt. Trudy slammed the dashboard with her fist in an attempt to correct it but to no avail. Turning off the engines, she unharnessed and grabbed her mask before exiting the cockpit and climbing on top of the aircraft.

"Damn, I'm going to need a minute to troubleshoot this," hearing the slight panic in her voice through the mask.

"Grab the sonic repulsers from the cabin and set up a perimeter, so those damn viper wolves don't get us!" Trudy ordered as she flipped open a panel adjacent to the propeller's housing.

The group following the orders collected the small gray sticks that we fastened to the outside of the craft and placed them in a circle ten meters apart from each other. Since they were not as powerful as the ones the compounds used, they had to be closer to the craft so they could provide better protection, and no gaps would form in the perimeter. As they flipped them on, an annoying buzzing sound began to emanate from the repulsers that the avatars didn't like.

Seeing that they didn't have a choice, they endured the sound providing as much support as they could to help Trudy troubleshoot. As dusk gave way to the darkness of the night, the floodlights of the aircraft kicked on. The group understanding that the distress beacon they turned on has gone unheard.

"Alright, Mark, we are going to need you to head back to base to tell them we are in some trouble," Grace looked down at the pair hanging around outside the craft.

Nodding in acknowledgment, Mark climbed into the helicopter and secured his body to the seat. Jacen watched in confusion as to what Mark was doing. After securing himself, Mark closed his eyes, and a couple of minutes later, his body went limp.

Clicking in Jacen's mind what Mark did, he spotted Grace peering down with an approving look at Mark's limp body. Looking up, she made eye contact with Jacen and told him to maintain a vigilant watch as anything out here can kill them before rolling back onto the top of the helicopter.

Grace and Trudy continued working on the aircraft as Jacen patrolled the perimeter they had established. He laughed at the bickering those two were doing on top of the craft. Then something caught his eye off in the tree line bring his rifle to bear, shining the light on the target only to reveal partially illuminated trees. The feeling of someone watching began to creep into his mind as he started noticing more movements in the tree line.

The paranoia of someone watching him began to give away as a small voice in the recesses of his mind began to call to him. The feminine voice was soothingly calling him out into the forest, and the more Jacen listened to it, he noticed the feeling of being watched was going away. Looking back at the others in the group to see if they were hearing or reacting to the voice left him disappointed.

Returning his watch to the forest, he could see a slim figure peeking around the cover of a tree calling him to come over. Immediately looking in another direction, he intended to ignore it, but he felt drawn back to see if they were still there. To his surprise, they were still there waving for him to come. The more he studied the being; he began to see the silhouette take on a distinct female shape. The figure captivated him to the point that when he was looking at the person, he felt safe and happy. Looking back to see if anyone was watching him, Jacen quietly snuck off to follow the figure.

Quietly entering the underbrush, he picked his way through the roots and plants that covered the nighttime floor. Following the person who was always just out of reach to not be able to make out what she was, he pressed on fully intending to find out. In his error, he failed to notice that he was not alone as something was hunting him.

Jacen went from a slow walk to a jog to a full blow sprint as he pursued her through the forest. Trying his best to clear fallen trees and roots that projected above the ground, he felt her slowly slipping away into the trees. Out of breath, he stood in the dark forest alone, his light providing his only haven. Taking in his predicament, he realized how bad it was and tried to think of a way out of here.

Just as Jacen turned to head back the way he came; he heard the crackling of wood giving out to some unknown force. Spinning around to the direction of the noise, he came face to face with the black silhouette of a massive beast leaping at him. In a fruitless attempt to bring his weapon to bear, the beast pinned his arms to him and slammed him into the ground. At the moment of impact, Jacen lost consciousness as he laid on the forest floor engulfed in whatever just attacked him.

Thank you for reading my story and I would love to hear for you! Hopefully I can continue with this pace of one chapter every two weeks to provide some consistency for my readers. Si arayo!


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